


In a Pet

by Runadaemon



Series: Secret Life of Pets? [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bamf marinette, Everyone loves Marinette, F/M, Fake Gabriel Agreste, Gen, Hammy Noir, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Minor Violence, Nightmares, Some Humor, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22080298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runadaemon/pseuds/Runadaemon
Summary: When Marinette's cousin gets akumatized on her behalf, Adrien doesn't know what he's in for. Apparently, neither does his Nightmare.Alternatively, pick your jaw up off the floor Chat.
Series: Secret Life of Pets? [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1587589
Comments: 19
Kudos: 328





	In a Pet

**Author's Note:**

> I kid you not, Hammy was not supposed to be in this story. I think I'm cursed now. Enjoy?

The day Adrien felt his heart truly begin to shift away from His Lady, was the day Marinette saved him. Not Adrien him, but his superhero side. Marinette saved Adrien every day when she patched up his daily bite and gave him smiles and treats. This day, she saved a superhero and stole a bit of his heart in payment.

In all seriousness though, those pastries were possibly the only thing keeping him from starving to death. His nutritionist was still frantically trying to make sense of his metabolism. Until she finally gave up and increased his calorie allowance, those pastries were almost literally what kept Chat Noir in business. Camembert was expensive, and he already got judgmental looks from Nathalie when she reviewed his bank statements every month.

The story went a little like this….

Adrien jolted when the Akuma alert went off. He was in the middle of a photoshoot, but the Photographer was immediately distracted. With a faint “Ooh! Akuma shots!” Mr. Tobias rapidly disappeared from view as his assistants sighed and began to break the set apart. Adrien blinked even as his personal assistant for this shoot began herding him to the changing room.

“What…?” Adrien asked feebly. This was obviously a good opportunity for him, but he was struggling to understand what was happening. The assistant, Sam, smiled as he handed Adrien his original clothing. They’d worked together for a couple years at this point.

“Mr. Tobias is currently fascinated by the akuma. He immediately reschedules any shoots that occur during an akuma attack.” The red-headed, blue-eyed lanky young man smirked and leaned forward conspiratorially. The freckles on his cheeks blended in nicely with his tanned skin.

“He says he can’t get the best work when lives are being threatened, but really? He just likes taking photos of the akuma. He has an entire album devoted to them, and he analyzes common themes in his quest to,” The assistant made air quotes and shrugged. “’Pursue the Truth!’ He’s convinced he can compare commonalities to other designers and figure out who Hawkmoth is.”

Adrien smiled and laughed a little, as was expected. Honestly, the whole endeavor sounded silly, but he’d let Ladybug know. She might want photos of the Akuma to study as well. “At least he’s trying to do his part to end this reign of terror, right?” Adrien finished unbuttoning his shirt and handed it to Sam. Sam’s blue eyes crinkled, both in amusement and acknowledgement.

“That’s true. And for *my* part, I’ll get you changed and off to your parent’s house, per orders.” Sam worked quickly, putting clothes away as Adrien changed his pants. Sam glanced at Adrien’s surprised face and winked. “We’ve all noticed how quick you are to leave when the akuma hits. Your dad worries, so you rush home, right?”

Adrien didn’t wince, but he was certainly flustered and set off-balance. “Yeah,” He weakly replied. “Yeah, thanks for understanding, Sam.” Sam laughed and clapped him on the shoulder as he inspected Adrien for anything that might belong to the set. Not finding anything, he inspected the room for anything belonging to Adrien.

He grabbed the phone Adrien had left on the table and handed it over. Adrien pocketed his phone without looking at it, smiling his thanks. With a nod, Sam pulled Adrien out of the changing room and escorted him to the front door.

“Oh, Adrien?” Sam called as Adrien went to leave. Adrien turned back and made a questioning noise. “Is that ring from your mom? You never take it off.” Adrien’s face paled, before he nodded silently and Sam winced.

“My bad, I should’ve realized you’d be touchy about that. You might want to have a chain to put it on in future. You never know when you’ll need to take it off for a shoot. Anyway, stay safe, I’ll see you soon!” Sam waved Adrien off, watching as Adrien ran out of sight in the general direction of the akuma.

Sam sighed and leaned against the door. “Dude, you gotta get better at lying. Be safe.” Sam murmured to himself.

****************************************************************************

Chat Noir arrived just in time to see Ladybug screaming as she rapidly swung away, some male in white chasing her. “My Lady?!” Chat called out in alarm, before spotting Alya. She was hunched over, uncharacteristically absorbed in her phone when an akuma was nearby. Chat Noir jumped down next to Alya, intent on asking her for information. He crouched down, only to see her phone filled with hate mail. He blinked in confusion. “Alya?”

“Nonononono! I check my sources! I do! I get the best shots, I do so much, NONONO!” Alya was muttering as she rapidly scrolled through a never-ending list of reprimands and accusations. “I would NEVER plagiarize someone’s work!” She hissed in affront. Chat Noir called her name again and reached for her shoulder, shaking it slightly.

Alya glanced up with teary toffee-tinted eyes. She grabbed his left forearm as she begged him. “Please, fix this! This is my worst nightmare and I don’t deserve this!” Tears streamed down her face, marring her makeup. Chat felt his chest clench, seeing her so upset for the first time.

Chat winced at the pressure of her hand squeezing so hard he could feel it through the suit. Before he could ask her anything, he swung around on instinct as he heard someone’s booming laughter behind him. “AHAHAHAHAHA!!! That’s right! This IS your worst Nightmare! You’ve tormented my cousin long enough, it’s time the world got to feel what my cousin feels every day! Live out your worst nightmares! HAHAHAHAHA!!!”

A slim, vaguely demonic looking boy lounged on a pillow floating in the air as he laughed. His skin and hair was black and thick, and for some reason he had a hamster tail and ears. “Ah, Chat Noir! Welcome! I am NightHammy! Here to show everyone their worst nightmare! What will yours be, I wonder? Ladybug’s was quite a sight, let me tell you!”

As Chat Noir bristled in offense, NightHammy sent an impossibly fast beam of light at Chat Noir. Chat Noir tried to dodge only to find that Alya’s grip on his arm kept him in place. As the beam hit him, he clenched his eyes shut and braced for pain, only for the light to disappear on contact.

NightHammy gave a frankly creepy giggle as the pillow floated into the air and the Akuma produced some popcorn. In between his giggling and munching, Chat Noir could faintly hear him say “This’ll be good!”

Chat Noir kept his eyes shut as he patted himself down and firmly removed the still hyper focused Alya from his arm. She immediately returned to her phone. He peeked one eye open and glanced around but saw nothing. Opening both eyes, he was just about to grin and make a pun when he faintly heard it.

There was a faint tapping sound coming closer. Looking around frantically, he saw a shadow beginning to emerge from the alley near him. Chat Noir pressed on the baton, extending it to staff length before crouching, ready to fight his new foe.

“How DARE you.” The voice chilled Chat Noir to his core, and he dropped into a submissive, straight-backed stance without thinking. NightHammy made a strange sound and the popcorn fell from the pillow, but Chat Noir’s eyes remained glued to the alley. “It’s all your fault. She’s gone, and you did it!”

Chat’s breath caught in his chest as his father emerged. Gabriel Agreste limped forward, hair askew and eyes wild. His glasses were broken, and hanging from one ear, but he ignored that to stare deeply into Chat’s eyes. “How dare you pretend you didn’t drive her away!” Chat tried to move back, only to find his legs wouldn’t support him any longer.

With an inhuman whimper, he fell to the floor near Alya as Agrestemon loomed over him. “It’s all your fault! Your wishes and complaints sent her off on some goose-chase! You never should have been born, you ingrate!” Chat whimpered, even as he heard the strange sound of chanting above their heads.

Chat’s arms flew above his head, staff forgotten on the floor as he braced himself against the cane Agrestemon raised. He let out a whimper as the words kept coming. “You sent her away and won’t even tell me where! It’s your fault! Everything is your fault! Of course I don’t want to see you! I know you did this to us!” As the cane swung downward, Chat closed his eyes and cried out, not hearing another let out a grunt of pain.

Only to feel nothing. The cane didn’t hit him. Chat cautiously opened his eyes when he heard his father grunt. He was aghast to find Marinette holding the cane with one hand while the other arm dropped briefly to her side. Already he could see bruising forming on the forearm, before he looked up at his savior. He couldn’t see her face, but he could see the incredulous expression of his father.

“How dare you interfere?! It’s all his fault! He’s ruined our lives! Get away from me, before I ruin yours!” Agrestmon threatened. Marinette grunted as she tightened her hold on the cane, before using the bruised arm to wrestle the cane away from him. “You imbecile! This will ruin you!” Spittle flew from his mouth as the crazed designer ranted at the young lady fighting him off. “I’ll RUIN you! You’ll never work in this city! In this WORLD!”

Chat Noir took a shaky breath as Marinette took control of the cane, beginning to rise to his feet. He froze when he heard Marinette give a breathless laugh. His father didn’t make idle threats. How could she laugh in the face of this danger? He was still on one knee when Agrestemon lunged at Marinette, attempting to regain his cane to no avail. Marinette easily fought him off, still laughing in between her panting.

“God, I swear the Agreste men are going to kill me one day.” Marinette gasped out. Chat gaped at her, torn between gratitude and rising offense. They were friends, weren’t they?What’d he ever do to her?

“Look, you wannabe! Chat doesn’t deserve ANYONE hitting him! Especially not you, you two-bit-wish-you-had-talent HACK!” Marinette ranted, finally having caught her breath. Chat froze, his offense melting away at her caring words, and unwilling to have her turn her attention to him if she was angry. She was beautiful, but so scary. A little too scary.

Marinette easily threw the Agrestemon off of her, sending the mock Gabriel to the floor, where he sat in simmering fury. “Now you listen here you harlot!” Marinette cut him off, pulling Chat to his feet as she answered.

“No, YOU listen!” Chat could feel something inside melting. He wasn’t sure what, but it felt like his heart, just turning gooey and soft and filling his limbs with tingly love. “Chat is a beautiful, incredible, strong hero! He deserves the world!” Marinette stood protectively in front of Chat, gripping the cane she’d taken tightly, as though to prevent herself from stabbing the Agrestemon with it.

“He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me and if you ever try to hurt him again and I will END. YOU.” Marinette’s voice had never sounded so threatening. Chat found himself incredibly conflicted. On the one hand, she was very scary. On the other, she’d saved him, praised him, and protected him. She was swearing to protect him in the future as well. His breath caught. A future with Marinette could be….

The Agrestemon had no common sense, as it was obviously a construct. “I’d like to see you try!” It scoffed. Marinette’s lip curled, even as the NightHammy leaned over his pillow to see the confrontation now that the MothMask was gone.

Chat Noir found himself covering his own eyes as Marinette raised the cane and began bashing Agrestemon with each word she uttered. “I. Will. End. You. And. Every. Person. That. Supports. Your. Stupid. Ass!” Even NightHammy winced in sympathy as the Gabriel Agreste Nightmare fell to the floor. With a wave of his hand, he banished the Nightmare and leapt from his pillow.

“Marinette! My angel! My love! You’ve come!” NightHammy fell into Marinette’s arms without an ounce of caution, looking up at her coyly with large, loving eyes. To Marinette’s credit, she easily caught him when the cane vanished from her hands. “Do you like my work? I’ve done it all for you! They’ll never forget what they’ve done!” NightHammy’s large red eyes looked pleadingly into a passive Marinette’s.

“Don’t worry, my angel! I will make sure they suffer until they change their ways! I promise! Then we can be together forever and I’ll take you home with me and we’ll get married, and I’ll give you a potion! Then you’ll live forever with me and we’ll be together forever, and have twenty-five babies- I’ve named them all already, you’ll see!- And you’ll be so happy! I promise I’ll make you the happiest woman in the world!”

Marinette stared down at the Akuma that quite literally jumped into her arms, quietly examining him for anything out of the ordinary as she let him rant. She didn’t notice Chat Noir becoming steadily more angry and jealous behind her. She was intent on finding what didn’t belong. Right as she noticed him clutching familiar bracelet that seemed fused to his palm, she noted that he was winding down. Unaware of the seething hero behind her, she smiled sweetly at NightHammy.

“Aw, you’re so sweet!” Marinette’s expression froze as she mentally recapped what he’d said in her distraction. “Wait. Did you say twenty five children?” She jumped when Chat burst out in anger behind her.

“THAT’s what you’re concerned about?! Sweet?! He’s a little psycho! He’s trying to take you away! Put him down! Right now!” Chat ranted at his Princess. How dare she hold another man while he’s right next to her! Especially right after defending him so gallantly!

“Aw, Kitty are you okay? You almost sound jealous!” Marinette smiled jokingly at Chat, not realizing he was genuinely upset. NightHammy clung to her even tighter, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and leaning his head against her cheek as he smirked at the jealous Hero.

Chat Noir growled and flexed his hands into claws as NightHammy began cuddling in toward Marinette. “You know you’ve always said Ladybug’s your true love. You don’t have to worry about Marinette. I’ll take excellent care of her!” The akuma drawled smugly.

Marinette blinked when Chat Noir hunched into a defensive stance. “I’m not letting him take you away! I won’t! Cataclysm!” He activated his power and lunged for NightHammy. Marinette squealed, clutching NightHammy to her as she ran away. “Come back here Marinette! I just wanna get rid of him!” Marinette let out another squeak as she felt his claws just miss her back. “It’s my jooob Princess!”

Intent on figuring out how to run away and direct Chat Noir’s Cataclysm to the palm of the akuma, she didn’t notice NightHammy stiffen. “Princess?!” NightHammy barked. “She’s not your Princess! She’s my Goddess! My Angel! She transcends this shitty realm you scat-filled cretin!” NightHammy yelled back at Char Noir, using his jeweled hand to point at Chat Noir.

Marinette took the opportunity, slowing down and letting Chat Noir get just close enough to make him hit the jeweled bracelet. As the bracelet broke, NightHammy screamed. “NO! I was so close! My Angel!” Marinette gently put down the young boy holding Hammy Noir.

“I’ll be right back, little cousin. Wait here, and don’t let go of Hammy, okay?” The boy of seven gave her a toothy, love-sick grin and nodded. Marinette turned to Chat Noir, who was silently screaming while pointing at Hammy Noir. “Chat Noir! The Akuma! Don’t let it out of your sight! I’m going to find Ladybug!”

Without waiting for his reply, she ran to the nearest alley, and within thirty seconds, Ladybug came barreling out. Chat Noir waved at her, excited. “My Lady! Quick! The akuma is right there!” He pointed to the butterfly moving as quickly as it could but still within thirty feet. Ladybug gave a triumphant shout, snagging the butterfly, purifying it, and releasing her Cure. Chat was curious to note that her lucky charm was some kind of mirror etched with Marinette’s signature flowers, but it quickly disappeared as everything was set to right.

“Thanks for the hard work, Minou! I really gotta get back to my civilian side, can you stay with the victim until their family comes?” Ladybug sounded a little winded, and incredibly frantic. Chat Noir opened his mouth to point out his timer, but Ladybug didn’t let him argue. “Thanks, Chat! Gotta Bug Out!” Ladybug flew away.

Chat pondered on what to do, looking for anyone that could keep an eye on a little kid and demon-spawn hamster, spotting Alya. Even as he started to wave her down, Marinette came skidding out of the alley. He immediately changed targets. “Marinette! Thank goodness! Good job getting Ladybug so fast! I really gotta run, but can you watch the victim until his family comes?” Chat was excited to see Marinette, but he didn’t want his identity revealed and he was down to two pads.

“What?” Marinette blinked at him, even as she knelt down and cradled the little boy to her chest. Chat Noir studiously ignored the way both the boy and the hamster snuggled into her chest tightly, smugly smirking at the hero. “I am his family. This is my baby cousin.” Chat Noir took one precious minute to gape silently at the infuriating duo before he sighed.

“I can’t handle this right now. I gotta skecatle. Chat you up later!” With a wink, he ignored the furious glares of the hamster and boy as he vaulted a few streets over and de-transformed. Adrien silently sank to the alley floor, too overwhelmed to function anymore.

Marinette turned to look at her cousin as Alya ran up to her, intent on apologizing for their argument earlier. “What was that about, mon Cherie?” Marinette’s little cousin blinked up at her as innocently as Hammy. Alya noticed Marinette wasn’t paying attention, and shifted on her feet, anxious.

“I don’t know. Who was he?” He tilted his head to the side adorably, and Marinette squealed at the cuteness for a moment, squeezing him tightly. He relaxed into her hold, completely content to be pressed even closer to his favorite person. Alya attempted to get Marinette’s attention, but realized it might be futile right now.

“Nevermind, Mon Cherie. Let’s get home, shall we?” Marinette smiled down at him, ignoring Alya for the moment. Alya sighed and let it go. She’d ended up getting Marinette’s baby cousin akumatized today. If they weren’t ready to talk to her and listen to her apology, she’d wait until they were. Marinette's cousin smiled back and they headed towards the bakery, taking a plotting Hammy Noir with them.


End file.
